But Only If You Promise
by rubyphantom56
Summary: They waited for 57 years. After all that time, a promise was fulfilled, and a dream come true. 57 years, and their lives were finally complete. Please R&R, HPSS oneshot.


A/N: Ok, so here's another one-shot from my files of them. I honestly thought that I'd never get around to releasing these, considering that I thought that OUW would be taking up all my time. But since Ashley is being all "ahhh" and not getting the chapter back, I decided to post one of these every now and then until she gets them back to us. So I hope that you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. Also, I'm trying a different set up, so I hope this works out better.

Disclaimer: Ano… I don't own them now-- I never have, and I never will. Unless of course JKR dies and in her will she leaves me the rights… and we all know that would never happen. So, it's apparent that I will never have rights to them. **Sigh** One can dream though.

Summary: They were together for years. It seemed like they'd never get their one true wish in the world, when finally the chance came to them. After 57 years of waiting, a universal law went into effect to allow same sex couples to get married and be recognized in the entire world.

Pairing: Harry/Severus- I believe I'm becoming more and more obsessed with this

Title: But Only If You Promise

_I'll do anything you want,  
__Anything your heart desires  
__My heart is yours now,  
__But only if you promise  
__Me something in return_

_I'd do anything for you,  
__I'd take the hit, or even death  
__That takes my heart away from you  
__In exchange for the promise  
__That I made to you_

_I'll hold your heart in my hands  
__And I will guard it with  
__Everything that I am  
__But only if you promise  
__That you'll guard mine as well

* * *

_

oO0Oo

It had taken them years. They had fought on the opposite sides of the war, and they hated the sorrow that had come with it. They had wished for a better life that had evenutally come. Harry looked up at the older man, taking in his aging face and smiled.

This was where he belonged after all.

oO0Oo

The war was keeping them apart. Harry's eyes shed bitter tears as he was held by the man he loved for the last time. "Harry, I promise I'll come back to you. As soon as all of this has finished, I'll become your husband. You can count on that." The words were muttered in his ears as he felt the strong arms unwrap themselves from around him.

"But only if you promise me you won't interfer with me killing him." Harry said, standing and looking the older man in the face.

Severus Snape nodded, and swept out of the room, hiding the tears sliding down his cheeks.

oO0Oo

"I saw the ocean once in my life." Harry said, taking the hand of Severus. "It was years ago, when Draco took me traveling around Europe. I'm glad I get to see it with you again."

Severus pulled the man with a smaller frame into an embrace. "Would you care to get married, someday?" He asked in a quiet voice, next to Harry's ear.

"Yes. More than anything would I like to be called your husband." He turned back to the waters, which suddenly looked a brighter blue than they had before.

oO0Oo

Two men slumped down onto a bed. They were exausted. "You know, this was never so bad. I want to do this all the time. Everyday, every minute of every day, and spend every second here with you."

A small chuckle sounded from the other side of the bed. "What makes you think that I'd want that? You have at least twice the energy that I do. Don't I earn short, but deserved rests after doing such things with a _child_ like you?"

A small smile played across the face of the younger. "Admit it. You can't get enough out of shagging the daylights out of me."

"Perhaps not. But I suppose, if given the right amount of _persuasion_ I might be interested to do it more often." The other smiled wider.

"I'm sure that I can help with that."

oO0Oo

"You know, everything that we knew it as, will be ending in just a few days."

"They might be, but I'm sure that we won't be ending soon. Or at least that's my wish." A hand reached into a pocket, pulled a small black box out, and then a knee bent, and he was kneeling. "You wouldn't happen to want to get married would you?"

Eyes widened. "Are you sure about this? I thought that this was only going to be temporary."

A smirk appeared. "Never. I entend on spending the remainder of my life with you, whether you want to or not. The only way you're getting rid of me is if you pass away. And I hope to Merlin that that doesn't happen." He paused. "So? Will you marry me?" Eyes looked at him expectantly.

"Yes. Oh, yes, please!" He stood and spun the other around. They met with a blazing kiss. This promise must be fulfilled.

oO0Oo

"I'm afraid that we're going to be moving soon." Severus said, taking a sip of tea while reading the morning newspaper. Harry just stared at him. "We're moving, if you didn't hear me the first time."

"Why?" Harry asked, his eggs falling off his fork into his lap.

Severus sighed and put down the newspaper. "Because, if I know you, which I do, rather well in fact, I know that you want to live by the ocean." He looked for conformation. A nod appeared. "And somewhere with trees." Another nod. "Good. Because we're moving to Ireland." That stare had come back. "Now honestly, Harry! I would have thought you'd be thrilled." Another nod. "Merlin help me with this child. Why I ever strapped my self and life to him, I must have been drunk."

A smile from across the table appeared. "Never." He stood and crossed the short distance to put his lips to his lover's. "You strapping me to you was your idea if you do remember correctly." No answer was heard, so he decided for a trick, "Unless your memory is going?"

A snarl was heard. "You know better than that, child." Another smile and then a laugh.

"I haven't been a child for years. I stopped being a child when I got together with you, just after the end of my seventh year." An embrace followed.

"Yes I remember. I had to leave you shortly afterward to fight for a man I despised. You killed him, and then we finally got to be together with peace."

"So are we ever going to get married?" Green eyes found black. A nod.

"I do believe I promised that to you." A smile, and a kiss.

oO0Oo

Years had still passed. Hermione Granger had been working all this time for the gay marriage movement, and it had finally passed. It was a worldwide law amongst the wizards. They could marry whenever they wanted to, but it had taken most of her life. Yes, finally the promise that had been started so many years ago could be fulfilled.

oO0Oo

"Oh, Severus, you know that Ron didn't mean the things he'd said." Harry said, taking off his shoes while sitting on the bed.

"I know he meant them. He still doesn't understand that I love you. I've never wanted to strangle that boy more than I had tonight. It would kill me to do anything to cause you harm, physically or emotionally. He also doesn't want to comprehend the fact that I'm going to marry you, one way or another."

"You're right. He doesn't believe that you…" He paused

"That I what?"

"That you intend to keep that promise." Harry bit his lip, knowing that it might have been the wrong thing to say.

A sigh was heard. "I intend to keep that promise for as long as you'll have me. You know, I still don't quite understand why out of everyone that you could choose, you chose me to be with you forever. And I do hope you realize that if you break this promise, I won't forgive you for it." Severus said, a slight angry tone in his voice.

A laugh was heard from across the room. "I wouldn't do that, even if it meant my life. I'd die for you, and even more if necessary. I chose you because I loved you, and not for any other reason. It should be good enough for you, considering that you decided to spend forever with me."

"Yes."

"So you still intend to make me Mr. Harry Snape-Potter?" Harry asked, a slight amused tone playing inside his voice.

"Of course. I still don't see why we're sticking to tradition with the name exchange."

"Because you love me."

"Insolent brat." A smile appeared. Snape-Potter. Yes, he supposed he could live with that.

oO0Oo

"You know, it should have been bigger when it happened, I suppose." A smile appeared. "Of course, that was years ago."

"I know it was. My memory may fade of many things, but of you, love, and potions, I'll remember those forever." A pause in speech for coughing. "I knew that a big event would have just caused us both despair. It was easier this way."

"Yes, I know you're right. I just think back on it, and I think that it would have been better for more than just her at the wedding."

"She was the only that we decided to invite, based on what she did for us."

"And you're right again. She was really the only one worthy of attending. Had Remus, or any of the Weasleys that didn't hate you, were alive they might have been worthy enough. Or Draco for that matter. I still can't believe that he'd been killed in the battle. I thought he was more willed than that."

"He gave up."

"You didn't."

A pause. "No. I intended on keeping the promise I made to you to come back. I never broke one promise, it just took absurdly long amounts of time for some of those to be fulfilled." A laugh was heard.

"I understand. I understand completely."

oO0Oo

"You were gone so long."

"But I came back, I like I promise you I will every time. You do realize that you shouldn't assume that I'm not coming back until you don't receive owls from me, don't you?"

"Yes, I suppose. But even so, it doesn't keep me from worrying about you. You can be really… difficult sometimes."

"You know, I still intend to keep that other promise, even though it's already been 13 years."

"To marry me?"

"Yes."

"I know you do. You have yet to break a promise to me."

"I know. Now that I'm back, do you reckon that I could have nap in peace?" A nod. "Good, now lay down with me."

oO0Oo

"You could have done this years ago. In Vegas." Hermione said, tightening Harry's tie. "You could have done this before Ron and I got married. You could have been celebrating wedding anniversaries instead of just regular ones. You could have made it so that I could dance, and walk a bit better than I do now."

"I wanted it to be legal here. Not go to some crazy town to get a small wedding reception that meant nothing to everyone else here. If it hadn't been for your efforts back then, we never would have made it to this day." Severus said, taking her hand gently. "Thank you for everything." A smile appeared on his face.

She nodded. "It was much easier than the house elves. And besides, that was when I was still very immature." A laugh was heard. "You've barely changed since then."

"Oh you mean just in age and appearance?" Another laugh. "Yeah."

A grin appeared on her face. "I'm glad you decided to wait. Because then, it would really mean something to everyone across the world." She was struggling with the tie. "Ok, I give up." A laugh.

"I think that's the first thing she ever gave up on." She continued to struggle when aged, but more advanced hands moved hers out of the way. A 'let me' was heard, and finally Harry's tie was straight.

"Finally, so do you think you could fulfill that promise now? I've been waiting for this for 57 years."

They walked down the asile, where Hermione was the witness for this, and the vows, at long last, had been exchanged. She knew that she was the last person in their lives that knew them as well as she did that was still alive. No public spectacle, just as Severus had promised. They could move on with their lives, and eventually into the after life because their one last need here had finally been completed.

She cried, knowing that she might never see them again, but didn't ask them to stay a little longer, and didn't say goodbye. She didn't trust herself to speak, other than to say "Congrats, a promise is finally fulfilled. It waited years, may you both have many more to come." They left, hand in hand, love clearly written in their eyes.

A need finally completed, and it had all started with the simple words, "But only if you promise."

oO0Oo

"You know, I finally know exactly what we're going to do. We're going to get married as soon as we're able." A cough and a sputter were heard.

"You seriously want to marry me? I always thought you were joking."

A hand enclosed his. "Never. I love you with everything that I am, and you won't believe me if I tell you this now, but I entend to marry you, if you'll have me." There was a pause. "I promise to make it everything you ever wanted."

"Everything?"

Severus pulled out a sheet of parchment, grabbed a quill and ink, and began writing the exact details for the wedding. "Everything my love, I promise I'll give you everything that you want."

"OK, but only if you promise me that there will be…"

The End

* * *

A/N: OK, so was it any good? I hope so, considering that I spent a lot of time trying to finish this. Thank you for reading if you did, and I do hope that you liked it. 


End file.
